


And They Were Roommates (Oh My God They Were Roommates)

by orphan_account



Category: Cartoon Therapy (Web Series)
Genre: Emile is Gay as Fuck, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I think Roman is mentioned like... once, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Sleep | Remy Sanders, Other, Remile is a great ship, Remy is Pan as Fuck, Roommates, and they were ROOMMATES, and what else are you gonna do during quarantine than confess your undying love for your roomie?, author tries to make cartoon references despite not watching mainstream cartoons, author tries to write a coffee addict without ever having drunk coffee, oh my god they were roommates, quarantine fic, this has been in my drafts for m o n t h s, why is the author doing this, you know the drill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:21:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24141241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: “Rem, there will come a time in your life where you will learn to accept all pizza,” Emile quoted sagely, holding up a slice to the other’s mouth with a teasing grin.Remy tried to hide their own smile as they shook their head, pulling away from the offered pizza. “Whatever you say, ‘Greg Universe.’ But hun, I might be able to settle for square pizza. However, I think both Steven and I would draw the line at cold, day-old pizza.”“And who’s fault is it that we can’t enter the kitchen without choking on burnt pasta fumes, huh?" Emile's smile softened at that, nudging the other to show that he meant no hard feelings, before-“Emile, I think I love you.”aka emile and remy are dumbass roommates who are already a married couple but have yet to realize this fact
Relationships: Dr. Emile Picani/Sleep | Remy Sanders
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29





	And They Were Roommates (Oh My God They Were Roommates)

**Author's Note:**

> based on that "cooped up roommates confessing their love over the day's second pizza DiGiorno" tweet that I cannot find for the life of me
> 
> basically, a quarantine fic I started writing two days into the whole 'staying indoors but it's enforced this time' thing that i never really got around to finishing despite literally _having nothing else to do_. is it kinda shitty? yeah? do i care? deeply, but i'm gonna pretend i'm fine with it for the sake of getting it out of my drafts?

Not even a day into the official quarantine, and Remy Somnum was about to fucking _lose it_. Because yeah, sure, they were known for doing absolutely nothing whenever possible. Infamous for sleeping in impossibly late, lazing around on the couch more often than not when they were in their apartment, it seemed like being forced to stay inside for an indeterminate amount of time would be a dream come true.

But Remy was also known for showing up at nearly any party the city, or even the cities nearby, had to offer. For frequenting every karaoke bar in the immediate 50 mile radius, making a daily appearance in their rotating list of their 'cafe of the week', and even earning a lifetime ban in a bar or two. And for as much as staying at home and having nothing to do sounded good at first glance, a few hours without even the chance of social interaction had them about to combust. 

They knew they shouldn’t complain. Well-off enough that they knew that they could draw comfortably from their savings for at least the next couple of months, Remy knew they had it a lot better than those who weren’t lucky enough to be as financially stable. They should take this reprieve as a gift, as a _vacation,_ and they fully intended on doing so when going into it. But after sleeping in until 3pm, trying 15 separate coffee concoctions their half-asleep self had come up with on the spot, and watching a show that was too boring to care about the name of on Netflix until they finally brought their standards low enough try out and quickly exit Omegle, they couldn’t find themselves thinking of this as anything but a prison sentence. 

Luckily, there was one saving grace. And that came in the form of 6 o’clock rolling around, a laptop clicking shut in an adjacent room, and Remy’s roommate finally joining them in the common area of their apartment. Unable to bite back a smile as they saw the other stretch and then immediately make a beeline for the fridge, Remy audibly sighed in relief at the sight of the smiling man.

Emile Picani; a local therapist known fondly for his unorthodox counseling methods, and most likely the only person keeping their city’s back-alley DVD store in business by how many shows and movies he insisted he needed to own in disc form. Claiming 30 years of age, though Remy jokingly called bullshit as he looked more in his early twenties than anything else, Emile always sported a casual formal wear, complimenting his pink-dyed bangs that faded to a natural brown, carmel eyes that sparkled like jewels in the sunset and a smile that could melt even the hardest of hearts. Pair that with the round glasses that perfectly framed his face and the light smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, Remy’d say he had perfectly mastered a mix between ‘absolutely precious’ and ‘professional.’ He was Remy’s gorgeous roommate of five years and, unbeknownst to Emile himself, the owner of Remy's heart as of two. But just like every cliche chick flick they had ever seen, their current setup was far too nice for Remy to throw it all away at a confession gone wrong, and their friendship was something far more important to preserve. They might've been far past hoping that this was a simple crush that'd be gone by the next week, but that didn't mean that they had to... confront their feelings and _confess_ or anything. _Ew_. 

“Heya, hun,” Remy said in greeting, sounding as casual as one could while lying with their legs thrown over the back of the couch, head hanging off the cushions as they pretended to continue finding a show on Netflix. At this point, they were just seeing how fast they could scroll through their recommendations over and over again, watching the titles of trashy reality tv shows flash too quickly to read across the screen. “How’d work go for ya?”

“Perfect!” Emile replied with his usual vigor, pulling out some takeout leftovers before heading over and plopping down on the couch next to the other. “I thought it’d be a little difficult, switching from a physical setting to just video chatting, but it all went off without a hitch! A lotta my patients seemed a little more comfortable in their home setting, so this is actually a really neat opportunity!” Shoving a mouthful of cold tai noodles into his mouth, he paused, then added thoughtfully with his mouth full, “...Mished ma offwice, t’ough.” Chewing and swallowing, he shot a quick, “How was your day off?” at Remy before attacking the remaining noodles. Come to think of it, the other hadn’t seen him since breakfast… they'd have to make sure he ate something in between his sessions tomorrow. 

“Ohhhhhhhhh my _goooooood_ ,” Remy whined, “Emi, you will not believe this shit!” And off they went, describing the woes of being stuck all alone in their apartment, with Netflix offering nothing new or interesting in lieu of his misfortunes. Emile listened patiently as he finished his food and, as the other finally trailed off, decided to cut in as he set the takeout container aside. 

“Sounds like someone’s getting cabin fever a little early, aren’t ya?” The giggle that accompanied the statement was criminally adorable and tested Remy’s ability to will back a blush. 

“...Maybe,” they muttered quietly, jokingly swatting at the other’s shoulder. Swinging their legs down, maneuvering their body so that they were finally sitting on the couch properly, Remy kicked their legs back and forth in thought. A moment or two of silence, and a sudden thought popped into their head. “Hey, you free tonight?”

“Not like I have anywhere to go,” Emile pointed out, and Remy snorted before knocking their shoulders together. 

“You know what I mean… what’d’ya say, hun? I’m not finding anything good... might be time to break out another one of your shows. Maybe the gem one you’re always goin’ on about?” The room fell silent, and Remy refused to look over at the other. Seconds ticked past, and they quickly rushed to continue. “Not that we have to, of course! I know ya just finished it a few weeks ago, I just-”

“...You want to watch Steven Universe with me?” Emile asked softly, an excited gleam in his eyes revealed as Remy finally chanced looking over at the other. “But you always-”

“...am too busy, I know. 'S been a little hard to keep up with our 'roomie cartoonie nights' with everythin' goin' on, and it's truly been a travesty." Flopping over onto Emile's shoulder, a hand held to their forehead in a 'woe is me' gesture, Remy tried to dissipate the nervousness building in their stomach with a usual show of casual humor. "But like you said, we got nowhere to go, 'nd _god_ , Emi, cuddling up and watching shit with you makes my day! 'Sides… I liked Avatar a decent amount. I think I trust your taste in shows enough at this point.” Remy tactfully avoided the fact that, while they had absolutely enjoyed the animated masterpiece that was ATLA, most of their enjoyment had stemmed from the excited conversations they were now able to coax Emile into and, more importantly, _understand_. Nothing in their life had ever felt more monumental than when they had offhandedly brought up Zuko’s redemption arc and known what they was talking about, Emile’s face lighting up as they traded points back and forth and leaving Remy with a warm feeling in their heart for the rest of the night. 

They had fallen into another silence and, chancing a cautious glance up at the other, Remy caught the glimpse of what they could almost call a flustered expression on Emile’s face before he grinned. It wasn’t the wide grin they was expecting, though. This one was soft and... a little more _intimate_ in a way, like Remy was seeing something they weren't supposed to see. 

“I’d love that,” Emile said softly. And then, looking like he was shaking himself out of some thought or another, quickly added, “I’ve been meaning to rewatch the series, anyways! It’s basically required to rewatch a show after the finale, just to see it in all of its perfection, y'know?” And just like that, there was no sign of the soft smile or the almost awestruck whisper that Remy was beginning to question had ever happened at all. The next twenty minutes were a flurry of excited ramblings and grins at quips Remy shot at him from their position on the couch, themself finally being coaxed into the kitchen to make the two of them some hot chocolate while Emile handled the popcorn.  
  
And just like that, the night became nothing more than both of them sitting on their respective sides of the couch tossing popcorn at one another between episodes, Emile trying to steal Remy’s hot chocolate after he had finished his own, and the casual and ongoing commentary Emile always ended up voicing. It was only about halfway through season one where the other’s excited realizations and comments began to come far and few between, words becoming sleep-slurred and broken with yawns. And before they even knew what had happened, Remy suddenly found themself with a sleeping roommate resting on their shoulder. They weren't even sure when the other had moved close enough to cuddle up with him but they could feel their face flush darkly as the other mumbled nonsensically, nuzzling more into their neck as his loose grip around Remy’s waist tightened. 

And Remy would have woken him up, they promised! But… Emile had just been through such a long day, and he had another day full of appointments tomorrow, and... well, he needed all the sleep he could get! It _wasn’t_ because Remy was falling more and more in love at the sight of the other's sleepy smile, or because they were still being held in the other's soft and comforting grip, or because they felt safe and sleepy in a way they hadn't felt in years, not at all, _no ma’am_! 

Remy ended up dozing off with their head on top of Emile’s before they could properly dissect the moral dilemmas of waking the other up versus staying still and letting the other sleep. They don't think they've ever slept as deeply or as peacefully as they did that night. 

* * *

  
  


The next morning, Remy woke up with a Spiderverse blanket tucked around them that _definitely_ hadn't been there when they had fallen asleep, feeling more rested than they've felt in… well, a long time, that’s for certain. Though, to be fair, that was probably more due to them actually going to bed at a decent hour than anything else. They could vaguely hear that Emile was already deep into another session with a patient, a few key words bleeding through the walls making it obvious that he was using Steven Universe as an example, and a small grin slipped onto their face before they could stop themself. 

Emile didn’t mention the way they had fallen asleep on eachother last night, so Remy decided not to either. Not when Emile left his room around noon to grab a drink and had given the other a grin and a wave, not when Remy silently opened his door and put their offering of a messy pb&j sandwich on the other’s bedside table and they both shared a look, not even when Emile nervously sat down on the couch next to Remy later that evening and had asked if they were busy. 

“Not like I have anywhere to go, hun,” was Remy’s joking response, and their grin only widened as the other giggled. 

“Well… I’m done with my sessions for the day, and was wondering if you’d want to have a picnic dinner with me?” The invitation was said with all the usual carefree happiness one would expect from the bubbly man, but Remy could see the way he twisted at the sleeves of his beige cardigan nervously. “You can say no, of course! Just… the date night you put together last night was so fun, I thought I’d-”

“Date night?” The words spilled from Remy’s stupid mouth before they could stop themself. Immediately, they tried to play off the statement as a joke even as their cheeks burned, and they hoped their sunglasses covered at least a part of the blush as they hastily rushed to cover up their misspeak. “Aww, boo, why didn’t you let me know it was a date night we were on? I might’ve dressed up for the occasion to better compliment the cutie you are.” The statement was attempted to be sarcastic, but it came off more as confused than anything else.

Luckily, Emile didn’t seem to notice, as he was too busy trying and failing to cover a blush of his own. “As friends, silly!” he said in a voice that was a little too high to be normal and, as he quickly turned as if to look around for something, Remy tried not to pay attention to the way their heart panged at the other's label of 'friends.' “It’s… it’s fine, if you have other plans! I just-”

“I’d love to,” Remy cut in, and they both paused for a moment longer before Emile began giggling once again.  
  
“Sorry, I… I’m in a little bit of tizzy, I suppose. Let me… uh, let me grab the food. Meet on the balcony?” And before Remy could even respond, Emile was off to the kitchen, leaving them looking suspiciously at the curtains hiding the view of the balcony from sight. The fabric had been pulled closed since they had woken up, which was unusual as Emile always enjoyed letting the natural light filter into their living room. And as Remy pulled them aside to get access to the sliding glass door, they saw why.  
  
“Do you… like it?” Emile asked, almost cautiously, as he had stepped out onto their tiny balcony. Remy only mumbled what could barely be perceived as a positive response, too busy burying themself in the literal mountain of pillows filling half of the space. A Spongebob print blanket that had likely been taken from the therapist’s bed lay crumpled on the unfilled side of the balcony, and Emile couldn’t help the endeared sigh that left his mouth.

“...I’m going to take that as a yes. You know, the blanket was meant to go on top of the pillows… sorta like a picnic blanket or something.”

“I think you’re just pissed I’m making your already great idea even greater, sweetheart!” Remy shot back out cheekily as they finally poked their head out of the mountain. With that sudden movement, a pillow finally breached the handrail of the balcony railing and both of the others watched with varying levels of amusement as the sequin-studded throw pillow fell all 4 stories to land in the empty courtyard below. 

“...I’ll buy you a new one.”

“Help me set up the picnic, and we’ll call it even.” 

Soon enough, the pillows were spread out evenly on the floor of the tiny balcony, giving them about a three-foot-deep pit of cushioning for them to spread the blanket over and then flop onto themselves. With the narrow amount of space available, Remy found themself cuddled right up against the other’s side and, as they got an up close and personal view of Emile’s face lighting up as he described the food he had made, they couldn’t help but think that this was the best idea ever.

And Emile really was doing something to them, because they found themself getting tired only a few hours later. And not the regular tired, the kind of desperate tired they felt at 4 in the morning when they knew they should be sleeping and the anxieties of knowing they had to wake up in only a few hours only riled up all the thoughts bouncing around in their mind. No, this was a warm tired, a _soft_ tired, a tired that felt safe because they knew nothing would happen if they stayed wrapped up in Emile’s arms. All the food had been eaten and empty drink cartons littered the balcony around them as they traded stories until the sun went down. Talking of this and thats, of funny stories and overbearing customers until Remy’s contributions had trailed off, their head nodded down into the crook of Emile’s neck.

They thought they barely felt the brush of lips against their forehead before they finally drifted off to the sound of Emile’s voice, but they chalked that up to being half asleep at the time.

* * *

“R...Rem, what is this?”  
  
“Oh hun, you thought I’d let you upstage me? 'Sides... what else was I supposed to do with my afternoon?"

The excited look on the other’s face more than makes up the couple hours spent on the setup in front of them. Their living room had been entirely cleared, couch and table being pushed up against the wall, a picnic blanket laid out in the middle. That, paired with the simple DIY shoebox projector they had managed to wrangle together pointing towards the ceiling, Remy dramatically promised Emile that they'd show him the stars that night. 

Indoor stargazing ended up being a flop, the projected 'stars' being far too faint to really see. But when Emile just giggled and kissed Remy's cheek, saying it was a cute idea anyways and they could still try to look for the real stars later that night, Remy couldn't help but see the night as the biggest success they've ever had. 

* * *

"When... Emile, you had patients all afternoon, _when did you have time to set all this up?"_

Emile just winked, flipping a switch so that the soft glow of the fairy lights were all that lit up the room. "I may have lied about having all that work earlier!" he said far too cheerily for someone admitting that they were lying, tugging the other more into his bedroom, which was now outfitted to vaguely look like a really soft, pastel karaoke bar. "Besides, I know you miss going out and partying, so I thought that this would be... I dunno..."

"Amazing?" Remy whispered softly, taking the lead and pulling the other with them as they spun around to look at everything. They couldn't stop smiling as they admired the hastily strung up lights, the small snack bar set up by the bookshelf, and set up front and center... "Oh my god. Oh my _god_ you have Ro's karaoke machine. He never picked it up after that game night last month, did he? Oh my god he's gonna be so pissed when he realizes we're gonna have it for the next few months!"   
  
They finally look up from scrolling through all the song choices ~~which were, unsurprisingly enough, all Disney songs~~ a few minutes later, only to feel their heart jump at the absolutely enamored look being directed towards them by Emile. 

But before Remy could even begin to process that look Emile quickly jumped in to ask which song they wanted to do first, leaving them to wonder if they had just imagined it all in the first place. They decide not to dwell on it, quickly turning back to the song list and trying to will back the blush no doubt painting their cheeks.

"Oh, you think I'd steal the show all on my own? Hell naw, hun. C'mon, if we want to get through even _half_ of these Disney duets, we'd better start now!" 

* * *

It was on the seventh night, Remy’s unofficial choice in activity, when it all came spilling out. And it wasn’t even over the candlelit pasta dinner they had been planning, because of course it couldn’t have a singular semblance of class. The pasta had burned to ash, which Remy hadn't even been sure was possibly before that night, and so they were sitting on the living room floor watching Spongebob reruns. It was a battle trying to ignore the smell of burnt noodles that had not been contained in the kitchen, but it was helped by the distraction of their dinner of the leftover pepperoni DiGiorno pizza they had already had for lunch. 

“Rem, there will come a time in your life where you will learn to accept all pizza,” Emile quoted sagely, holding up a slice to the other’s mouth with a teasing grin. 

Remy tried to hide their own smile as they shook their head, pulling away from the offered pizza. “Whatever you say, ‘ _Greg Universe_.’ But hun, I might be able to settle for square pizza. However, I think both Steven and I would draw the line at cold, day-old pizza.”

“And who’s fault is it that we can’t enter the kitchen without choking on burnt pasta fumes, huh?" Emile's smile softened at that, nudging the other to show that he meant no hard feelings, before-

_“Emile, I think I love you.”_

And for as scary of an admission as that was, even as they tried to remain as casual as ever as they said it, Emile only responded with his usual grin.  
  
“I love you, too!”

“No, I....” Taking a breath, Remy tried to to smile, but could feel the corners of their mouth shaking. “I… I think I _love_ you. I mean, I’ve always thought you were cute, babes, ‘cause I’m not sure anyone could _not_ see you as the adorable being you are. But then you waltz in here, with your adorable freckles and goddamn smile, and you just care about this extra, tired asshole who you don’t even know and invite them to watch some cartoons on your first night as roommates and goddamnit of _course_ the asshole would fall in love, it’s like textbook romcom 101! But then you kept being nice and you helped me with my insomnia and you always make those stupidly adorable puns and references when you talk and… a-and-”

“ _Are you an Airbender becauseIthinkyoujusttookmybreathaway_ -”

At those rushed words from the other, Remy was officially stunned into silence. And as their endeared gaze met Emile’s shocked one, they thought the other was just as surprised as they are at what was said. 

“I, uh…” And for the first time Remy had ever seen, Emile seemed to be at a loss for words. “That was… the p-pickup line I was going to use. After we watched Avatar, a few months ago? Always pictured me starting with it when I tried to figure out how to tell you because it’s a solid line, right? I guess I kinda… panicked and just… went for that and _I’m so sorry_ .”

And then Remy was laughing, honest-to-god bent over themself as very unattractive gasps and bouts of loud laughter filled the air. Glasses slipping down their nose as they finally look up at Emile, they smile their adorably lopsided grin at the other before beginning to laugh again. 

“I… I love you,” Remy choked out again between giggles, but this time there was no hesitation in what they're saying. They didn't stop to try and correct themself, didn't need to explain their true meaning, didn't need to say anything else as they repeat the atrocious attempt at flirting under their breath, followed by a endearingly muttered ‘ _oh god, what am I going to do with you, Emi?_ ’ 

They’d work out what this meant for them tomorrow; that conversation no doubt to be filled with just as many soft and sappy kisses as it would be filled with genuine discussions about where they wanted to go with this, and Emile couldn't help but feel his face and heart warm at the thought. 

But that was tomorrow’s discussion. For now, Emile just grinned, letting a giggle of his own slip from his lips. Scooting a bit closer until their shoulders were touching, he nudged his laughing roommate good naturedly as a feeling of relief fell over him. And, before he could psyche himself out, he tugged the other closer lightly by the lapels their leather jacket and captured Remy's laughing lips in a light kiss. 

“I love you too,” he repeated quietly as he pulled away, giggling a bit himself at the awestruck look on the others face before he was being pulled back into another kiss. 


End file.
